Kibbles and Bits... just snoozing and hanging out!

Update on BabyLove's progress...

BabyLove's skin and coat is already starting to make baby steps of progress...

While you can't see the progress on a daily basis, you can over a much longer period of time... And two weeks later, you can just now see the upper layers of lizard skin starting to peel off and fresh new (pink) skin trying to replace itself...

Her poor feet aren't near as swollen as they were originally... And there is a bit of peach fuzz coming in on the top of her head... We're still working on trying to remove the lizard skin underneath her eyes, but that's a tedious and long-term problem that only time, meds and daily baths will overcome...

She's still not that friendly with the baths... Some days I can count on it being an easy thing to get done... Other days, she's bound and determined that I will be as wet as she is!...

The BEST part of the progress is that the awful stench of the secondary skin infections and dead skin is starting to lessen a bit... OMG... That is the hardest part (at least for me) about cases like this...

She's such a sweetheart though... She's never cranky, noisy or snarfy... She'll play with us now, so you can tell the difference a few ounces of hard-won, good nutrition have done to her energy level... It is almost comical to see her play with those long legs and malnourished, thin body as she scampers... The legs get way out in front of her and the body has to catch up!

Read BabyLove's blog HERE for the beginnings of this journey!

Scooters and Yukon...

Scooters is teeny tiny at less than 4 pounds, but in his world, he doesn't have a clue how little he is!... He'll bark at the HUGE dogs that pass by the Xpens at adoptions without half a thought that he could have been their lunch except for that Xpen (smile)~!!!...

Scooters is sweet and docile, a lover and not a fighter, but whoever adopts Scooters will need to be his protectorate for sure... Scooters 'shows no fear' as the saying goes... 

He gets along with everyone, human and dogs alike... Here's a photo of Scooters with Yukon on the doggie steps... 

Can you believe Yukon is still with us and up for adoption?... We're amazed because he's such a sweet little dog... But people hear '8 years old' when asking about Yukon and 'keep on walking' as they say... They laugh at his antics at adoptions (if he can find a corner to 'walk up' on the Xpens, he can climb out easily enough - AND DOES~!!!)... He wants to be out and about with all the people - not stuck in an Xpen with dogs... Yukon is definitely more of a human dog than a doggie-dog, preferring the company of us rather than other dogs if given an option! 

Update on Missy...

Missy is doing much better now on the antibotics and medicated baths... The hair is starting to return around her snout and the tips of her ears, but we doubt seriously if the scar on her nose will ever grow hair again... That's OK - it adds character to her face!

While Missy is very loving with her foster family, she is a 'slow warmer' as they call it, a pretty common trait for the cross-breeding of the Jack/Chis with such distinct different personalities... 

Although she's not high energy like most Jack Russells are, she is certainly always on alert and playful... Highly intelligent and 'watchers of life' as they refer to Jacks, Missy is small like a Chi and much lower to the ground than a Jack is (and she doesn't have the 'Jack bounce' either)... 

Regardless of being a 'slow warmer', Missy's furever family (or person) will come along eventually... And she didn't have to die in a local shelter in the meantime!

Introducing Teeny!

Teeny is a small, delicate female Chihuahua we seriously thought of naming "Lady" but this is the name she came with from the shelter, so stayed with it... We found her in a shelter with an open gash below her left eye... The shelter's efforts to medically take care of it were unsuccessful, so she became 'rescue only' after ending up on the kill list... 

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It didn't take us long to realize what was wrong with her, so with TLC's policy of 'one hard case for every four,' we pulled Teeny out of the shelter and made a dental appointment for her the same day...

Once the vet was able to look at Teeny, he confirmed she had a badly infected tooth in the upper jaw and the infection caused the skin to burst, keeping the wound open, infected and nasty... 


Teeny wasn't too happy about getting it debrided and washed out twice a day, but she quickly learned we were going to do it and once she realized that she was starting to feel better, she easily went along with the program!


Teeny is EVERY much the lady... She takes treats delicately from your hand, is quiet and reserved, not a dominant Chihuahua, etc... She is about 7-8 years old (young for a Chihuahua with a lifespan of 15-20 years) and weighs less than 6 pounds... She is a classic 'Black Bandit' in markings and has been a treasure to foster~~!!! 

Prince - standing on "guard"...

During one of the brief stretches of 'no rain or downpour' last week, I snapped these photos of Prince as he was 'surveying his domain'... It SO reminded me of the cartoons of my childhood from the Wiley Coyote (??) series... Remember the ones I am talking about?... Where the coyote checks in for work, his job is to try and steal a sheep from the white sheepdog that guards the flock?... And at the end of their shift, they both sit with their backs to you, watching the sheep from crest of the hill?...

By calling his name, I got Prince to turn around and look at me... And I wish I could get better photos of him, for Prince is a magnificent looking dog in person...

He has a very intent and wise look about him, but as ferocious or intimidating as he looks, Prince is a big pussycat...  He'll curl up under blankets in a heart beat and prefers to be a cuddle at the drop of a hat... While he has a block-head and the pushed in nose of the Pug breed, he has few of the normal traits of Pugs... What his true background is, we do not know of course... But he certainly is a beauty!

Ever wonder what they are thinking???

Many, MANY times a day I see a 'look' that causes me to think, "Now I wonder what they are REALLY thinking...." and if you have a dog yourself, I am sure you can relate to this feeling... 

Prince is back on his feet (health-wise) now and has gotten into the habit of looking forward to going to adoptions every week (is it the cookies and treats? Or is it the pets and hugs from all of our volunteers and those who stop by?)... But he is also feeling well enough now to 'claim his spot' on a regular basis on my desk as well... 

Oreo was sleeping contentely in the doggie bed on the desk when Prince decided he was ready to nap as well... I couldn't resist snapping a photo of the two of them after Prince stepped into the doggie bed, did two turn-arounds and laid down... The doggie bed is really just big enough for him alone --- or a bit too big for Oreo by himself... But both of them???... (smile)...

And then the look that Oreo gave me was absolutely priceless!!!...  As in, "Uh, exactly what do you want me to do about this situation now?  He outweighs me by at least  pounds!!... Well... At least he will be a source of warmth, but I'd rather had had a blankee instead!!!"... LOL...

As for Prince, he nudged Oreo a little bit, stretched back a little bit using his legs as a brace, then gave a BIG sigh and went right to sleep!... 


I guess when it is time for royalty to get their beauty sleep, they don't anticipate any redress regardless of whose warm snuggy place they took over!

Pepi's surgery was a success!

Pepi had his FHO surgery done on the 7th of January and it was HIGHLY successful ("textbook" as it was referred to)... Prior to surgery, the majority of the time he held it up slightly when he walked... Six days after surgery, I am watching him putting weight on the leg already, stretching out and last night he went up a set of doggie steps!

Pepi was sweet before the surgery even in all that pain, but he is even sweeter now if that is possible!

On Monday, the pain patch was removed and we are slowly weaning him off of the oral pain killers... Without the surgery he would have been on these the rest of his life, and that leads to consistent stomach upsets, the shakes, etc...

Pepi is ready with all the other TLC adoption criteria (licensing, rabies, microchip, IDTag, etc.)... Only the surgery was holding him back from us putting him up for adoption - we wanted to make sure we did the absolute best we could to insure he had a healthy and long, happy life... 

Pepi will be at adoptions on Saturday if you'd like to stop by and say hello... 

Pepi is one VERY lucky dog... SO many people have stepped up and helped this little dog along the way, plus he kept his leg and it all works well now... WAY TO GO FOR ALL THAT PARTICIPATED IN THIS GREAT ENDEAVOR~~!!!

GREAT news for Scooby Doo!

TLC sure has been through some major challenges this year... And at times, I truly wondered if this was what we should be doing!... MORE than once I have felt I was over-worked, dramatically underpaid (tongue-in-cheek for we are all volunteers and unpaid) and thoroughly un-appreciated...

And then?...

You get one of those 'paw-print' moments that walk across your heart, leaving memories and warm fuzzies... You realize that these small achievements won't change the course of history and the state of the nation's affairs... But DID dramatically change one dog's life...

Such is the case with ScoobyDoo... For his back story, please read his entire blog... It has been a long rehabilitation mid July until now... It doesn't take me much to remember the day I pulled him out of the shelter, and just holding him, he shook so hard he left my shirt totally covered in his white hair... I remarked to my husband he was shaking so bad, I could hear his skeletal cage rattling... And ScoobyDoo was so thin, it didn't take much of an imagination for you could count every vertebrae and rib bone down his rib cage... Sigh...

Scooby's weight was an easy battle to win - he liked to eat, but would always wait until everyone else had... I just had to make sure there was still something left and easily got into the routine of holding a bit back, and then refilling the far dish for Scooby...

His fearfulness?.... I don't think I have ever seen a dog so fearful... Initially going to adoptions each Saturday, he would throw up in the kennel enroute... I pushed back feeding him to EARLY Saturday morning so his stomach would settle... Once at adoptions, he practiced his 'Mr Invisible' routine, sleeping in an Xpen as far away as possible from people coming by...

Every step of his rehabilitation was made by tiny, TINY steps... I'd push just a tad... He'd shake and stammer through it... I'd repeat... And again... And again if necessary... Until Scooby was OK with it for awhile, and then we'd try something new...

This past week, someone submitted an adoption application for Scooby via the fax and I called them, letting them know Scooby would be at adoptions like normal... When they arrived, the first thing I asked was if they had read his blog... Blogging has been a great way for people to learn all about a dog up for adoption long before the visual and physical impressions...

I watched as the two children approached Scooby once out of the Xpen and on lead... In particular, the younger child allowed Scooby to come to him on Scooby's terms... Not rushed, not 'into his face' kind of attention... It is my sense this young man 'has the touch' with animals... And I told his parents it is truly a gift... The older young lady was kind and compassionate towards Scooby as well... I have ALWAYS thought Scooby needed a family with children to grow up with, so I have to admit I got a bit out there with my feelings as I watched the interchange between the kids and Scooby...

Home check passed, Scooby intro'd with their dog well and Scooby finally won his very own furever home - AND WITH KIDS TO GROW UP WITH~!!!... Ta DAH~!!

Took us almost 6 months to get Scooby from his 'hopeless' mindset and state to a hopeful one, and I feel confident that his new family will see him blossom into the dog Scooby was always supposed to be... THIS is what rescue is all about - doing what needs to be done for the dogs, in their time and not ours, to the end goal of them receiving the furever home they so aptly deserve and need...

Congratulations to ScoobyDoo... I'm SO proud and happy for you!